Headlines from around the world:10/8/12

The American unemployment rate dropped for the month of September, hitting 7.8%, the lowest rate since President Obama took office in January of 2009. According to analysts, the drop in unemployment was due to more people working, not more people giving up on looking.

Muslim Cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri will be extradited to the United States from London, now that British judges have approved the action. Al-Masri will face multiple charges of terrorism. He drew the attention of British Security forces due to his inflammatory rhetoric and his significant following among militant groups.

The attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, was investigated by the FBI last week, in an effort to understand how the attack occurred and investigate any other potential national security risks. The specialists were escorted from Tripoli, the capital city, via C-130 transport plane and armored car with Special Operations forces accompanying them at all times.

The Russian government has found itself in a sticky situation after the FBI revealed last week that it had uncovered a ring of Russian agents smuggling U.S.-made microchips back to Russia. The group, based in Houston, operated under the guise of Arc Electronics, a company that is supposed to manufacture traffic lights.

The fighting continues to heat up in Syria, as rebels claim to have captured a Syrian military base that contains a cache of surface-to-air missiles. Relations between Turkey and Syria continue to deteriorate following Wednesday’s mortar attack on Turkish civilians. The Turkish parliament has authorized military action against Syria, in protection of rebels and its own people.

The currency of Iran, the rial, continues to lose value in the face of the ongoing trade sanctions against Iran. Many residents of Tehran are beginning to protest the Iranian government’s failure to maintain the value of the currency. The United States and other Western countries have maintained that the sanctions will not be lifted until Iran allows United Nations inspectors to check its nuclear facilities and ensure they are not enriching uranium for weapons.

The mayor of Rome has made it illegal to eat snacks and junk food on or around its monuments. Policemen said that since the new law came into effect October 1, 2012 they have fined seven tourists. The fines range from 25 to 500 euros but do not apply to people walking by. Regarding the fines given out one of the officers said, “Most of them are foreigners, so I doubt they will pay the ticket before they go back to their countries. It’s more likely they’ll keep it as a souvenir.” A local newspaper has dubbed it “the war on sandwiches.”